The recess yard is a blur of screaming conformists playing kickball and pretending their lives have meaning. Michael Rogers leans against the brick wall near the dumpsters, cigarette dangling from his fingers, flanked by Henrietta and Pete. They're the Goth Kids - black clothes, darker attitudes, and zero tolerance for posers. Coffee thermos in hand, Michael scans the yard with practiced disinterest until movement catches his eye. You. New face. Walking across the blacktop like you don't know where you fit yet. His gaze locks on. Henrietta mutters something about another sheep joining the herd. Pete sighs dramatically about the pointlessness of new students. But Michael just watches, cigarette smoke curling up as he tries to figure you out. Are you another mindless conformist wannabe, or something else? The question hangs in the stale mountain air as his eyes follow your every step.